Menu Monday

Monday: Cranberry-almond pilaf

Tuesday: Beef pie, carrot-beet slaw

Wednesday: Black bean felafels in pita

Thursday: Fennel and apple salad, char sui pork, rice

Friday: Lentil-Dill Salad

Milan's Clean-up Crew

Milan and I did some baking one day. The dogs were very interested, as they always are when the activity's occurring in the KITCHEN!

When we were done, Milan surprised me by opting to let the dogs lick out the bowl...

(instead of, you know, MILAN!)

The dogs were most appreciative!

Beading = Concentration

My camera is acting up again, so I'm posting pictures I've had stored on the computer for a while. These are from a rainy day in late June, when we decided to pass some indoor time with beads and pipe-cleaners. I love the concentration on their faces!

Library Trip

Nora gets right into her reading...

While others prefer to check out the new play stations...
"Hello? Hello?"

And the old favourites. They kept the dinosaurs!
It's the books we're here for, though. really!
Ooooo... so many to choose from!
Up from the basement to the check-out...

(It was a bit rainy that day.)
And home, to enjoy our literary loot!
We love books!

Water Safety Information

I found this article unnerving, but the information is very useful, particularly now that summer is here. It's about drowning, and how it doesn't look anything like we expect it to. If we don't know what to look for, we can miss it, with tragic consequences.

I like his summation: children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

Engrossed

Stephen gave Nora a piece of bubble wrap from a package he received today. He showed her how to pop a bubble or two and then left her to it. She was fascinated.

She kept up this level of fixed concentration for a good 40 minutes!

Snacktime at the Park

Love the squat.
Not sure why the faces. We don't like watermelon? See the chubby fist in the foreground? Somebody likes watermelon!
Addie was too busy to want to slow down and eat much, though she did manage to scarf a cracker or two.
Dries! Dries looooooves watermelon! Num.
Dining al fresco in the dappled shade. Not a bad way to spend a morning!

The more dirt, the more fun, right?

Take one runny nose, add a little sweat, and then mix in a TERRIFIC GAME!!!! whereby your friend pours sand over the top of your head...

and you get one seriously filthy face...

No-Pasta Lasagna

Adapted from Make it Fast, Cook it Slow. There are many wonderful crockpot recipes to be found on the author's website, A Year of Slow Cooking. It's a terrific resource! (And if you read the blog and note how very often she mentions that her kids wouldn't eat this or that, you can be patting yourselves on the backs for not caving to the picky-ness. Your kids will try just about anything. They don't necessarily like it all (though they like most!) but they try it and without a fuss! Something to be proud of.) :)

Ingredients:
jar of spaghetti sauce
good-sized eggplant OR 6 small zucchini, cut into thinnish slices lengthwise
500 mL cottage cheese
a generous heap of grated mozarella
2 cups of assorted vegetables -- whatever you have on hand -- chopped into smallish dice, if it will stay firm in the cooking

Method:

Pour spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 6-litre slow cooker, enough to thinly cover the bottom.
Put a layer of eggplant or zucchini slices on top
Cover with layer of cottage cheese
Then layer of vegetables
Then layer of mozarella

Continue layering in that order (sauce, eggplant, cottage cheese, veggies, mozarella) until you've used up all your vegetables. (But pace yourself so you get at least two layers. Three or four is better.) Top with spaghetti sauce, and finally a generous sprinkling of mozarella.

Cook on low for 5 - 8 hours. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan. (Salad and garlic bread rounds out the meal nicely.)

Very yummy!

Welcome, Dries!

It's time I introduced you all to our newest baby, Dries (pronounced 'Drees', to rhyme with 'fleece').



Dries has been visiting with us over the past couple of weeks, and will be joining the group full-time today.



I am happy to report that my camera was not broken when I dropped it! The memory card had been dislodged a bit. When I pushed it back in properly, the camera worked perfectly normally again. Hurrah!

Menu Monday

Monday: lentil-dill salad
They like lentils, these kids. Makes me happy. :)

Tuesday: Vegetarian lasagna, garlic bread
Only Nora and Addie today -- practically a DAY OFF!!!! -- and they both loved it. It's a no-pasta variant, where eggplant slices replace pasta, and it's done in the slow-cooker, so it doesn't heat up the kitchen much at all. Easy! I'll post the recipe.

Wednesday: tofu stir-fry, rice, cooked carrots

Thursday: beet and rice bowl

Friday: grilled cheese sandwiches, salad

Uncle Bear...

wants YOU!

Or something...

You'd think this weather is too hot to be buried in soft toys. YOU would. Me, too. The girls? They beg to differ.

Finger-painting

I love introducing children this age to finger-painting. They are often dubious at first, then intrigued by the sensation. Nora explores the slippery sliminess... (Her verdict? "Weird, but interesting.")
You can use your hands and fingers. You can also use stamps. (Or toothbrushes, or popsicle sticks, or apple slices, or scouring pads, or... It's fun!)
And then, after the initial uncertainty has worn off, they really start to enjoy the goopiness!
Look! My hands are purple! MINE are green!
Dominic is in The Zone.
Boo, yeah! FINGER-PAINTING!!!

Sleepy Girl

"Ella! Ella, wake up, lovie! It's not time to sleep!"

I have to wake up? Really?

I'm not sure this constitutes 'awake', but it seemed the best she could do at the time...

... and in any place...

Help a Friend!

As you all know by now, Melanie (Eliana and Milan's mum) is starting her own business, Tummy Thyme, a nutritional education and consultation service for young families. She offers a bunch of really helpful services, which you can find out about by clicking the link.

She is also, with her business partner, entered in a contest for Mom Entrepreneur. If she wins, the business will get $15,000! Want to help her win? Go here, click on the VOTE button, and then do it daily until the contest ends. Then ask your friends (your family, your co-workers, your neighbours, strangers on the bus!) to do the same.

I've voted three times so far. As they say, vote early, vote often. :)

Library ROCKS

Well, the library does rock. Really. These guys love the library. But it is undeniable that a HUGE part of the appeal of a trip to the library is climbing on the rocks afterward.

Hey, lookit that. Milan can smile for the camera! And isn't it a cute smile?